Sandalwood
Sunset ducked out of the way as the book sailed toward her head.
“GET OUT!” Limestone was screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking with the strain.
Sunset made it out of the room and closed the door just as another book slammed against it. At least she had her underwear on.
-------------------------------------------------------
“Aaand that’s why I’m wearing Pinkie’s clothes today.”
Pinkie Pie nodded her head sagely as Sunset finished her story. The others just stared at her, eyes as wide as saucers.
Applejack was the first to break the silence, “Lemme get this straight: You guys had a nice time, you even, ahem, had a nice night, and then you guys fell asleep together all peaceful-like. Then in the morning she just went crazy and threw you naked out of her room?”
“Yeah, it was so weird. Pinkie couldn’t explain it either.”
Pinkie Pie finished off her second cupcake and solemnly shook her head.
“Well, now what? I’m tapped out with suggestions.” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms in a huff.
“O-Ho Rainbow Dash, we don’t need to have a new date for Sunset every week. She can have some time off from this journey of hers.”
The group nodded at Rarity’s wisdom. All except Pinkie Pie.
Without changing her expression, she let the group know that there was a fair at the school and that there was a boy there that wanted to go out with Sunset.
Sunset had a blank expression for just a moment, “Well, I’m game. When’s the fair?”
With a glint in her eye and a smirk on her lips, Pinkie replied, “Right now.”
-----------------------------------------------------
Sunset didn't know what to expect. She barely knew this guy she was going to meet. What was his name again? Sandalwood? Something like that. All she knew was that Pinkie set her up, and she needed to look for green dreadlocks. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, it was harder than she might have expected.
She got to the location and EVERYONE had either green hair, or a green hat. What was with that? It was a little strange to her. The location, a small craft fair looking thing, also smelled slightly. She couldn't quite place the smell. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it was making her a little light-headed. But she pushed on anyway. She was determined to get through this date. She had to. After that last one nearly broke her again. She wasn't going to let herself be broken like that though. She'd had enough of that. She was going to get through this if it was the last thing she did.
Finally, she found him. Maybe. He was slightly taller than her and had green dreadlocks. He was playing hacky sack with someone. She walked up and introduced herself.
"Hey. Are you Sandalwood? I'm Sunset Shimmer. Pinkie Pie set us up."
"Oh yeah! I was having so much fun with my bud here that I totally forgot!"
Sunset did a mental facepalm. This was sure to be a memorable experience, at least. Sandalwood said goodbye to his friend and walked off with Sunset.
Sandalwood jumped right into conversation. "So, Pinkie tells me you're on a quest to find your soul mate."
Sunset did an actual facepalm in response. "That's...a very simplistic way of looking at it. Yes, I am interested in finding someone that I'm compatible with, but I wouldn't exactly label it as a quest to find my soul mate. It's actually more of me discovering bits and pieces of myself as I'm interacting with new people."
Sandalwood stopped and stared at Sunset for a few seconds. Sunset was completely unable to read his expression. Right when Sunset was starting to feel awkward, he finally spoke.
"That is the deepest thing I've ever heard anyone say about self discovery. It's possibly the deepest thing I've ever heard. You're completely right. The only mirror of our true selves is other people."
Sunset had no response for that. But she knew that, at the very least, she might be able to have interesting conversations with this Sandalwood guy. And she wasn’t wrong.
They walked through the fair and Sandalwood pointed out each and every stall, explaining what club set it up and what they were doing.
There was the Recycling Club selling art they made from reused items. There was the Gardening Club selling fruits and vegetables that they had canned from their own garden. The Communications Club ran the Information Booth. Fitness Club was giving demonstrations and handing out information.
Sandalwood pointed out the Canterlot Leaders in their club shirts, helping people with various things around the fair. There was a Community Outreach tent where you could sign up for various projects. Photography, Cooking, Sewing, Art, Woodshop, even the Band had a booth to promote themselves. Sunset knew all these clubs existed, but had never given them much attention.
Then Sunset noticed a booth off in a corner. No one was around it and there was only one person sitting at it. Nurse Redheart. "I guess it’s good they have a first aid booth."
Sandlwood noticed where she was looking. “Oh yeah, Probably the most important booth here, but sadly, it’s always the one that gets the least traffic. That’s our Mental Health booth. It’s not a club, but we want to make sure we make the resources available for students that need it.”
“Mental Health?”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t believe how many students here need a lot of help with that. Well, maybe you would.”
Sunset gave Sandalwood an inquisitive look.
“Well, I just figured, you know, with your past, you might need a little help sometimes too.”
This stirred up strong emotions for Sunset. But her brain kicked in before she blurted anything out. Sandalwood was probably right.
“Do you mind if….I go talk to Nurse Redheart for a bit?”
“No Way! Go ahead. I’ll be here with my hackie sac.” He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled at Sunset.
“Thanks.”
Sunset Shimmer walked over to Nurse Redheart. She was nervous. She didn’t know what to do when she got there. She didn’t know what to say. Hell, she didn’t even know why she was going. She just felt the need.
“Hello there.” Nurse Redheart’s voice was sweet and welcoming.
“Um…Hi.” Sunset just stood there rubbing her arm, not sure what to say next.
“Would you like to sit for a bit?” Nurse Redheart gestured to a chair across from her.
“No. Thank you. Um…I was just thinking…maybe…I might need some help?”
The smile that came to Nurse Redheart’s face was small, but sincere. “That’s why we’re here. Would you like to make an appointment to talk with someone?”
“Yes. Please. I think it could be helpful.”
“Alright, let’s see what we have available.” Nurse Redheart opened up her laptop and began looking through the calendar. Sunset glanced over to Sandalwood just in time to see him drop his hackie sack. He noticed her and waved back. He was such a friendly guy.
“Looks like you have plenty of choices.” Nurse Redheart's voice snapped her back to what she was doing. “We don’t actually get many students seeking this kind of help, so there are plenty of appointments open for you to choose from.” She showed Sunset the empty calendar.
“Oh. Okay. I guess let’s do Monday morning at 9am. I’m doing fine in Mr. Doodle’s class.”
“Okay, just fill out the form here on the computer.” Nurse Readheart turned the computer around for Sunset to fill out the form. Her basic information was all that was needed.
“Okay. You’re all set, Miss Shimmer. See you Monday.”
“Thank you.” Sunset started walking back toward Sandalwood. She felt nervous. Like, butterflies and jitters, nervous. She couldn't explain why, either.
"Yo, Sunset!" Sandalwood's excited tone brought her back to the present. She needed to practice being in the moment.
“Hey, Sandalwood. Sorry I took so long.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know those things take time. Talking about it and filling out the forms, all that stuff. On to the next thing. What do you wanna do?”
“Um…I am hungry. I feel like I haven’t eaten in ages.”
“OOH! There’s this awesome booth selling croquettes. I know the cook. She’s the best cook I know.” Sandalwood leaned in closer to Sunset and whispered, “Don’t tell my mom.”
Sunset chuckled at Sandalwood’s comment. “Sounds good to me. And don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
They walked over to the booth, where a girl with bouncy purple hair was laughing and chatting. She glanced over to Sandalwood and Sunset as they approached.
“Hello! Welcome to Croquette Corner, where I can take just about anything you want and fry it up to delicious perfection.”
“Ha, she’s not kidding either, Sunset.” Sandalwood gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder. “Go ahead and pick something. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“Um…okay.” Sunset glanced at the menu. There were so many choices. And she felt her body give an inner whinny when she noticed the food was all vegetarian. “I think I’ll go with the Carrot.”
“Ooooh.” The cook glanced over at Sandalwood. “I like her. She knows what’s good in a croquette.”
“Stop teasin’ her, Sugar Belle.”
“I’m not teasing. She genuinely has good taste. So many people skip over the Carrot for all the other ‘fancy’ ones, but simplicity is often the key to flavor.”
“Okay okay. You’re probably right. That’s why I always order-“
“Plain Jane! I know. Now let me get to work. I’ll have them done in no time.”
Sunset looked up to Sandalwood. “Plain Jane?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s just a plain potato croquette. Sugar Belle doesn’t even bother putting it on the menu because people don’t even ask about it anymore. I guess people think it's boring.”
“Plain potato, huh?” Sunset glanced back up at the menu. It was indeed missing. “I kind of figured you go for the kale, or something.”
“Yeah, a lot of people assume that about me. I actually don’t like kale. I’ll eat it if someone puts it on my plate, but I never go out of my way to choose it.”
“Same here. I may be a vegetarian, but kale always got to me. My whole life. I never understood the hype.”
“I didn’t know you were a vegetarian, Sunset. That’s cool. I’m still trying to make my way there.”
“You’re not? Wow. Really? Mister ‘One with the Earth’?”
“Oh, that stings a little." He chuckled, "Yeah, I like to try and unite with nature, but at the same time, my dad is a meat and potatoes cowboy. It’s how I grew up and it’s really hard to stop eating meat. I don’t eat a lot, and I make sure to get the meat my family eats from ethical farms, but I still feel bad for it every time.”
Sunset considered Sandalwood’s words. Considering his species’ omnivorous nature, she didn’t see any problems with him eating meat. Sugar Belle called them to pick up their order before she could formulate a reply. They took their trays to a table and sat down. Sunset noticed that Sandalwood was deflated from their little talk. She reached over, grabbed his hand, and looked him straight in the eyes.
“You are an omnivore. You eat everything. And that’s okay. I know that there are some farms that don’t treat animals the best, but you also don’t feed into that because you shop from the ethical farms. You are not part of the problem. You are not hurting the earth.”
“But…”
“No buts. Sandalwood, compare your life to mine. Have you ever tormented people in a play for power? No. Have you ever turned into a literal demon and destroyed a building? No. You are literally the nicest person I have ever met. Well, maybe tied with Fluttershy, but STILL. There’s nothing there to condemn. So smile. And eat your croquettes before they get cold.”
Sandalwood did smile. He then took a bite of his croquette and let his smile spread across his face. “Man. These are good. Eat yours too, Sunset. Oh man.” He shoved the rest of the croquette in his mouth.
Sunset picked up her croquette and savored its aroma. She could smell the carrots amidst the oil and bread. It smelled wonderful. She took a bite and was instantly brought back to the beginning of her journey. She remembered the Veggies in Bulk and how delicious they were. She remembered the good and the bad. She felt completely at peace with her journey.
“Dang, Sunset. They’re good, but I dunno if I enjoy them as much as you.”
Sunset opened her eyes, still floating on the flavor. “These are AMAZING. And they’re making me remember everything I’ve been through in the past year. It’s been a lot, but I think I’m coming out of it better than when I started.”
“Huh. That’s a lot of introspection coming from one bit of Carrot Croquette.”
“Haha, yeah. I guess I just have a lot on my mind. I really have been through a lot and it’s weird to sit back and actually look at where I came from.”
Sandalwood nodded solemnly. “I know about that. I used to be so short.”
Sunset laughed at that. Sandalwood quickly joined in.
After eating, they got up and started walking through the fair again. Chatting about anything that came up. Admiring what the various clubs had put together. They even tried their hand at the pumpkin toss. Sunset was barely able to lift hers. Sandalwood did much better with a decent eight and a half foot toss. But everyone knew they had no chance of winning when Big Mac stepped up. It was worth the disappointment, though, to see him smash his previous record with a 25-foot toss. The whole field exploded with cheers at that. It was a good time.
And that, as Sunset found out, was the final event of the evening. As the cheering subsided, she noticed that people made their way to their booths to start breaking them down. Sunset found herself at peace with the evening she had with Sandalwood. She was relaxed and ready to see what her new friend wanted to do next.
Sunset facepalmed.
“What’s wrong, Sunset? Are you okay?”
Sandalwood’s words sent a twinge of guilt down her spine. “I…just realized something.”
“What’s that? Did you forget that you have to work on a big school project or something?”
“No, I just…” Sunset took a deep breath, “Look, I had a great time tonight. Honestly, it was pretty amazing. But I think I realized that I can only be your friend, Sandalwood. I can’t really go beyond that.”
“OH! Is that all? Heh” his amused look confused Sunset slightly. “I figured that out when we were eating the croquettes. I thought you were just being nice, and finishing up the evening.”
“How did you know?”
“I dunno. Just your vibes, I guess. Don’t worry about it. You had fun. I had fun. No hard feelings here.” His smile put Sunset at complete ease. Sunset smiled back.
Her ringing phone grabbed their attention. “Oh hey, it’s my friend. Hang on.” She put the phone to her ear.
“Hey Rarity, what’s up?…Oh, yeah we had fun…I could eat. Let me see if he wants to come with me.”
Sandalwood politely waved No to the invitation.
“Oh he can’t come…okay I’ll see you guys soon…bye.” She put her phone away and looked up to Sandalwood. “Are you sure you don’t want to come for some food? My treat.”
“Oh no, I’m fine, Sunset. Let me walk you to your car.”
“I actually don’t have a car.”
“Really? How’d you get here?”
“I have a motorcycle.”
“What?! Really? That’s cool.”
“Haha I don’t know about that. It’s just transportation. I regret not getting a car sometimes.”
“But you can squeeze through traffic really easy. And you get way better gas mileage. It’s better for the environment.”
“Well, all of those things are true.”
They got to the edge of the parking lot and Sunset’s bike.
“Man, I can’t believe I never saw this thing before.”
“Well, I usually just walk to school. I just felt like…riding.”
“I get it. I probably would too. Alright, Sunset, go have fun with your friends. I’ll see you Monday.”
Sunset gave Sandalwood a quick hug. “Thanks for having me join you. I had a lot of fun.”
Sunset hopped on her bike and got it started. It was a little loud. She put on her helmet and gave Sandalwood a final wave. He waved back and watched as she rode out of the parking lot.
It was a good night with a new friend. Sunset was happy that her life was feeling on track. And she was looking forward to having a late dinner with her friends.
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Really want to know what happened with Limestone.
10940861
me too. Maybe I’ll find out some day.
10940872
I shall look forward with hope to the possible discovery then.
nice work on story
11026891
Thanks man.
I'm glad you liked it.
11086799
Yeah, it's clunky enough that I thought it was an error. Using "couldn't" also feels appropriate there, as the contrast (expected versus actual) seems to fit how Sunny feels toward Muffins: "It wasn’t what Sunset was expecting, but it couldn't possibly be labeled as better."
...sandlewood?
That name
It reminds someone of a past that cannot be undone